Call me "The Bag Lady"

Last year for my birthday, my sweet friend, Jami T. made this adorable bag for me!

Now, some women have one or two purses or even several.  Not me!  I'm a one purse/bag woman.  I have used this exclusively since then.  Thanks so much Jami!

I found out what pattern it was, (Jen Giddens "Pleated Tote") bought it, and was inspired by Jami to make some for my own friends.

I think I've made about 10 since last summer. (Jami's probably made five times that amount and has more of a right to the title "bag lady" but humor me :)  After I did it once, it was very easy to do more.

I love giving them as gifts.

I mentioned that my sister's birthday was yesterday.  I made one of these bags for her several months ago with some fabric that I thought she would like.  I wanted to give it to her for Christmas but made myself wait until her birthday.

Let me explain the beaver...Ang is a beaver fan.  While we were in Canada this last summer we saw these beaver patches in a shop and she admired them but didn't know what she would do with it.

I secretly bought it and planned then and there to make her a bag and stick it on somehow.  

I used some of the same awesome wool felt that I used for my shamrocks in my bunting and made a pin out of the beaver patch.  Yeah for beavers!

Here are a few more of the ones I've made.  I thought I had pictures of them all but I only found a few.

I think it's so fun to look for just the right fabric combination and try and match the personality of the friend I'm giving it to.

One last bag to share...

I made another one of these cuties a couple of weeks ago.  This one is for me!

I love it!

That's my sweet Singer it's lounging on.  I love this machine!  My sister gave it to me when she got her new one years ago.  She had purchased it at a thrift store.  It worked beautifully except the bobbin was a bit problematic.  I wasn't much into sewing at the time and so it wasn't that big of a deal.  However, my sewing fears eased off (I'll have to write about those a little later) and I started working on some projects a couple of years ago.  I borrowed my mom's old machine for those while this beauty sat in storage waiting to be fixed.

Andy surprised me on my last birthday and had it repaired!  Love it Hon!  Thank you so much.  

It's such a beautiful little machine...not fancy or showy but just exactly what I want and need...for now :)